violetismycolor

Mr. Darcy...

According to the BBC, this watercolor miniature is of the man purported to be Mr. Darcy.  Yes, THAT Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.  It is expected to fetch 50,000 pounds.

I'm not all that thrilled with the white hair that was so fashionable then, so I photoshopped in some brown hair.  Ah, MUCH better.  He actually looks like a young man, here.

Could this guy have actually been as dreamy as the Mr. Darcy of THE BOOK? 

According to the BBC:  Austen wrote of her sadness, saying: "At length the day is come on which I am to flirt my last with Tom Lefroy... my tears flow as I write at the melancholy idea."

 

real girls...

We saw a very funny and touching movie last night, called Lars and the Real Girl. This is now out on DVD, which is how we saw it, and it is definitely worth seeing.

We had gone out to dinner with dear friends, both of whose daughters work in the entertainment business in L.A. After a lovely dinner in Sellwood (capped with absolutely heavenly bread pudding), we wandered around Willamette Park, then called their daughters looking for recommended DVD rentals. John and I see quite a few movies, so it took a while to get past ones we had seen (Charlie Wilson's War, Atonement, etc).

We settled around the big screen TV and were delighted with this film. The acting is wonderful, with a cast led by Ryan Gosling, who was excellent as the emotionally-numb young man who is unable to connect in his relationships till he buys a lifesize doll (Bianca) and the whole town works with him to get him through his delusion. Sounds really odd but it was delightful.

movie delight...

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, the delightful new film that just came out this weekend, was enchanting...much the way Amy Adams last movie (Enchanted) was. The characters are fun to watch, extremely well-played by the wonderful cast, and a visual delight. Oh, yes...and we get to hear Amy Adams sing again.

I am a huge fan of Frances McDormand, who plays the title character, Guinivere Pettigrew. She does a fabulous English accent, too. She goes from frumpy Cinder-woman to sophisticated Fairy Godmother to her charge, Delysia LaFosse (Adams). She first won my heart as the sheriff in Fargo.

Ciaran Hinds plays the man that sees her for who she truly is, and likes that about her. He's been a favorite since he played Captain Frederick Wentworth in Persuasion.

And then, there's Lee Pace. I just love him in the TV series, Pushing Daisies, and he is just as charming here as the poor piano player who loves the girl who is trying to sleep her way to the top.

After seeing films like In Bruges (horribly violent and NOT funny, though that was the way it was advertised) and There Will Be Blood in recent weeks, this film was a breath of fresh air...a springlike breeze after a harsh winter...well, you get my meaning...

Go see it!

mythology...

Juno was the wife of Zeus, and is the name of the title character of the movie we saw tonight.  Juno.  The critics have been raving about this film and so, we went to see it.  The theatre was packed and the audience loved this comic romp about a pregnant 16 year-old.  It might not sound like a funny premise to you parents out there, but the subject was handled with such wit and grace that I think this is a must-see film.

Feast of Love...

John and I went out to the movies last night, which we do ALOT...most Saturday nights, in fact.  We saw the film, Feast of Love, which stars Doug Kinnear, Morgan Freeman, Jane Alexander, and the City of Portland.  It made Portland look REALLY good. 

The funny thing was that they filmed at Reed College but called it Portland State.  They photoshopped in a football stadium behind one of the main Reed buildings.  They filmed Mt. Tabor as being in the N. Mississippi neighborhood.  It was all very weird.

John remarked that it could be funny if someone saw "Portland State" and might be really upset to find out that PSU looks nothing like what it did in the movie.

The movie was supposed to be about love and so I was ready for all the romance/broken love affairs but not for some of the other sadness, having to do with death.  I did enjoy the movie, though, and think it is well worth seeing.

It helped me get my mind off the embarrassing 40-14 loss of my dear OSU Beavs in the game against UCLA.  I mean, when we left for the movie, they were in the 4th quarter and just barely hanging on to their 14-12 lead.  With only 9 minutes remaining, how could they have so totally melted down?

movies galore...

Amazingly, the last four movies I have been to have been wonderful. 

First was the German film, The Lives of Others.  It is a powerful story about East Germany's Secret Police before the wall fell.  Scary, but so well done.

Next came The Namesake.  This film is about an Indian family and their lives in the U.S.  It is a powerful film about family and how immigrants mesh their old and new cultures. 

Last week, we saw The Black Book (Dutch-directed by Paul Verhoven).  It is set in WW2 Holland, and is about the Resistance and the Occupation of Holland.  My mom was a teenager in Holland at this time and the movie was very true to everything she has told me about what life was like then.  It's a must-see.

Last night, we saw the French film, Avenue Montaigne.  It is about the intersection of the lives of 4 very different people...a waitress, a tv-soap star, a concert pianist, a dying man who is selling off the art that he collected over a lifetime.  Fabulous.

I DO note that three of these four films are not American.  Hmmm...

movie review...

I enjoyed the movie (The Good Shepherd) last night, though Angelina Jolie did nothing for me.  She isn't that great an actress and in a 'normal' role (not as a sexy Lara Croft-type), she is unappealing.  Matt Damon was good, but his character was a total ass.  Total Ivy League-Frat Boy-knows better than the rest of us-type. 

I was engrossed by the story, but I didn't really like most of the characters, so that was less than satisfying.

Tonight, we're off to see the new James Bond...yay...

films to see...

Ross is going back to OSU on Sunday.  Adam leaves Tuesday.  There are so many movies that we want to see yet.  But John is sick...horrible cold...and we have been waiting to try to see things together. But now we are going off to see a movie without John, as time is running short.  We are seeing the Angelina Jolie/Matt Damon film, The Good Shepherd.  It is supposed to be really long, but really good.  Will report tomorrow.

academy awards...

One name...George Clooney...

He was awesome tonight.  And he had to compete with the ever-awesome Jon Stewart.  But George Clooney showed himself to be funny, smart, a great actor,a comedian, and a brilliant director.  I have more respect for him now than I ever did.  So, he's not just a pretty face.

My favorite moments:

On the red carpet, talking to some reporter, he deadpanned, "I don't like anyone else here.  Not at all.  You know that Ang Lee guy?  I don't like him.  I think he's a Communist!"  The reporter sort of did a double-take and then finally realized that he was kidding. 

I loved the skit at the beginning of the Oscars where Jon Stewart wakes up with (first) Halle Barry there and realizes he's just dreaming. Then, wakes up again and sees George Clooney.  When he asks Clooney if he is dreaming and Clooney says no, Jon Stewart does a little victory dance.  It was funny to see the sex symbol make a little fun of himself. 

And then when Jon Stewart says, "Good Night and Good Luck is not only the name of a movie.  It's what George Clooney says at the end of every date."  Clooney looks abashed.  He's a great straight man.

I did think it very bizarre that a rap song called "It's Hard for a Pimp" could win an Academy Award.  Of course, I hate rap and I don't really think that most movie audiences are big fans either.  And I thought it was totally disincongruous that the movie that won for Best Director also didn't win Best Picture.  Yes, I was disappointed that Crash won the Best Picture.  I didn't really like Crash.  I thought that the picture had an important theme, racial prejudice.  But I found the movie irritating because everyone in the movie was so horrible to everyone else, even those who were supposed to love each other...like husbands and wives.  There was no character at all that was a shining light in the movie...they were all terribly tarnished.  I thought it was sad and depressing and didn't reflect the world as I see it. 

All in all, I was entertained by the AA but not satisfied with many of the outcomes.  I was really pleased to see Reese Witherspoon win for Best Actress, though.  She was great in Walk the Line and I just really like her in general. 

How did you see it?

really good movie...

John and I went to see Mrs. Henderson Presents last night.  Judi Dench is up for the Academy Award for Best Actress for this film.  She was, as always, fabulous.  The film only got  a "C" when reviewed in our local paper, but we thought it was definitely an "A".  It was funny (but could, at times, bring on the tears), well-written, well-acted, interesting, and fun. 

This is 'based on a true story'...a widow buys a theatre and, when she starts to lose money, she decides to put nude girls in the show.  She attempts to convince old friend, Teddy, the minister in charge of approving all theatre content, to let her do this.  Her argument is that beautiful women's bodies are like works of art and should be seen as such.  Well, he takes her at her word and approves the nudity as long as the women don't move, at all.  Like works of art.

Kelly Reilly, last seen as Mr. Bingley's stuck-up sister on Pride and Prejudice, plays the lead (nude) girl.  She certainly had that stuck-up sneer-thing going on P&P, but she is obviously capable of much more, if this film is any indication.  She was very good in it.  Interestingly, Judi Dench also played the stuck-up Lady Catherine de Burgh in that same movie, so they were reunited in this film. 

Recommendation:  Go see it...